Waikanae Music Society

PROGRAMME

DAVID GUERIN

SUNDAY 11 September AT 2.30PM,
WAIKANAE MEMORIAL HALL

FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN(1732-1809)

SONATA IN G MINOR HOB XV1 44

Moderato
Allegretto This sonata was probably composed as early as 1771, the year before Beethoven was born. This two -movement sonata is intensely expressive and Haydn's usual ebullience is not on show here. The dissonance and passion are balanced by contrasting sections in major keys and the intensity is all the greater for being contained in a tight formal structure.

LEOS JANÁCEK(1854-1928)
IN THE MISTS (1912)
Janacek's unique music brings together romantic harmonies, highly characterised rhythms often based on speech rhythms, passionate operatic intensity and intense mood painting. This suite of four pieces was written well onin Janacek's life; perhaps they are about the mists of his memories. The pieces surely make little sense by themselves but add up to a remarkable emotional journey. Commentaries on this work call on adjectives; wintry, mysterious, heart-stirring, rugged, misty colours, innocent, without consolation, grand gestures, restless energy, mercurial self-absorption.

ACHILLE-CLAUDE DEBUSSY(1862-1918)

ESTAMPES (1903)
Pagodes
Soiree dans Grenade
Jardins sous la pluie
Estampes marks the first discovery by Debussy of radically new approaches to piano technique and sound. The word means 'Prints' or 'Stamps'. Pagodes is a remarkable piece, capturing perfectly a French man's impressions of a Javanese Gamelan orchestra; underpinned by bass gongs, the bells melodies ring out above. Soiree dans Grenade is one of Debussy's masterful Spanish creations, nocturnal and brooding. The habanera rhythm pulses through the piece as distant echos of Moorish chants, castanets and guitar strumming sound. At one point a distinctly popular tune of the times bursts in. Estampes finishes with a virtuoso toccata, Jardins sous la pluie. A child looks out a window into the garden as the rain splashes about, sometimes lightly, sometimes dashing in furious blasts. The melodies are two well known French nursery songs.

INTERVAL

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
SONATA IN A FLAT MAJOR, OP 110
Moderato cantabile
Allegro molta
Adagio, ma non troppo-Arioso-Fuga-Ariosa-Fuga
The late Beethoven piano sonatas have inspired the most complex commentaries and analysis with detailed philosophical, psychological and spiritual interpretations. But one of their most important qualities is that as we listen to them almost two hundred years after they were written, the music remains enigmatic and elusive, able still to raise questions in our minds. Op 110 has six sections and unites sonata form, scherzo, recitative, arioso and fugue into a sublime experience.

FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN(1810-1849)
FANTASIE IN F MINOR
BERCEUSE
BARCAROLLE
Chopin's F Minor Fantasie was written in 1841 at George Sand's estate at Nohant. It opens with a slow march-like theme of serene gravity which prefaces an elaborate sequence of ideas. The main body of the work is interrupted by a reflective chorale-like episode which is alluded to triumphantly in the closing bars. It is regarded by some as his greatest composition. The Berceuse is a miniature but one of Chopin's most beautiful compositions. It features an unchanging simple rocking pattern in the left hand with a simple melody in the right hand, richly elaborated with feathery runs and filigree. The Barcarolle in F Sharp Major is a grand conception, rich in melodies and complex harmonies, ecstatic and passionate. The rocking of the opening accompaniment and the melody in parallel thirds set the scene of Venetain Gondoliers, song.

One of New Zealand's leading pianists, David Guerin studied at Victoria University with Judith Clark and at the University of Auckland (where he graduated with an M Mus degree) with Janetta McStay. Study at the Musikhochschule in Cologne focused initially on contemporary music with Aloys Kontarsky (Stockhausen's pianist colleague), and then on lieder accompaniment with Wilhelm Hecker and chamber music with members of the Amadeus Quartet.

He performs as a soloist, chamber music player and accompanist and has appeared as concerto soloist with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. He has toured New Zealand giving concerts for Chamber Music New Zealand and is a national recording artist for Radio New Zealand. A strong commitment to the performance of music by New Zealanders has been a feature of his career and several composers (including John Psathas, Noel Sanders and Philip Dadson) have written pieces especially for him.

A major collaboration in 1991 with the renowned choreographer Michael Parmenter included performances of Bach's Goldberg Variations and the many other solo performances of the Variations followed around the country, receiving outstanding critical and audience response. Dance also featured in a major tour with the Royal New Zealand Ballet Company, playing solo on stage in Mark Morris' Drink to me only with thine eyes, featuring music by Virgil Thomson.

A former Kapiti resident, David moved to Auckland about three years ago. There he continues to teach and perform, including further collaborations with dance companies and performances of the Goldberg Variations in Australia.

FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN(1732-1809) SONATA IN G MINOR HOB XV1 44 Moderato Allegretto	This sonata was probably composed as early as 1771, the year before Beethoven was born. This two -movement sonata is intensely expressive and Haydn's usual ebullience is not on show here. The dissonance and passion are balanced by contrasting sections in major keys and the intensity is all the greater for being contained in a tight formal structure.
LEOS JANÁCEK(1854-1928) IN THE MISTS (1912)	Janacek's unique music brings together romantic harmonies, highly characterised rhythms often based on speech rhythms, passionate operatic intensity and intense mood painting. This suite of four pieces was written well onin Janacek's life; perhaps they are about the mists of his memories. The pieces surely make little sense by themselves but add up to a remarkable emotional journey. Commentaries on this work call on adjectives; wintry, mysterious, heart-stirring, rugged, misty colours, innocent, without consolation, grand gestures, restless energy, mercurial self-absorption.
ACHILLE-CLAUDE DEBUSSY(1862-1918) ESTAMPES (1903) Pagodes Soiree dans Grenade Jardins sous la pluie	*Estampes* marks the first discovery by Debussy of radically new approaches to piano technique and sound. The word means 'Prints' or 'Stamps'. Pagodes is a remarkable piece, capturing perfectly a French man's impressions of a Javanese Gamelan orchestra; underpinned by bass gongs, the bells melodies ring out above. Soiree dans Grenade is one of Debussy's masterful Spanish creations, nocturnal and brooding. The habanera rhythm pulses through the piece as distant echos of Moorish chants, castanets and guitar strumming sound. At one point a distinctly popular tune of the times bursts in. *Estampes* finishes with a virtuoso toccata, Jardins sous la pluie. A child looks out a window into the garden as the rain splashes about, sometimes lightly, sometimes dashing in furious blasts. The melodies are two well known French nursery songs.
	INTERVAL
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) SONATA IN A FLAT MAJOR, OP 110 Moderato cantabile Allegro molta Adagio, ma non troppo-Arioso-Fuga-Ariosa-Fuga	The late Beethoven piano sonatas have inspired the most complex commentaries and analysis with detailed philosophical, psychological and spiritual interpretations. But one of their most important qualities is that as we listen to them almost two hundred years after they were written, the music remains enigmatic and elusive, able still to raise questions in our minds. Op 110 has six sections and unites sonata form, scherzo, recitative, arioso and fugue into a sublime experience.
FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN(1810-1849) FANTASIE IN F MINOR BERCEUSE BARCAROLLE	Chopin's F Minor Fantasie was written in 1841 at George Sand's estate at Nohant. It opens with a slow march-like theme of serene gravity which prefaces an elaborate sequence of ideas. The main body of the work is interrupted by a reflective chorale-like episode which is alluded to triumphantly in the closing bars. It is regarded by some as his greatest composition. The Berceuse is a miniature but one of Chopin's most beautiful compositions. It features an unchanging simple rocking pattern in the left hand with a simple melody in the right hand, richly elaborated with feathery runs and filigree. The Barcarolle in F Sharp Major is a grand conception, rich in melodies and complex harmonies, ecstatic and passionate. The rocking of the opening accompaniment and the melody in parallel thirds set the scene of Venetain Gondoliers, song.